Artificial Christmas trees, generally comprising a wooden pole, having drilled canted holes, into which holes twisted wire branches are inserted, are well-known to the art. This type of tree is ordinarily the least inexpensive of a myriad of knock-down, artificial trees presently manufactured by the artificial tree industry and employed by the general public. The artificial tree construction in which the bent end of a twisted wire branch is inserted into a drilled wooden pole is known to the art as a "stick-in" type of tree and is well illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,278,364.
Disclosed herein is a new and improved, injection molded branch holder sleeve, which will greatly contribute to the elimination of problems heretofore associated with "stick-in" trees. The problems with such stick-trees have involved hole location and sizes, i.e. the holes are difficult to align, to space, and to drill into wooden poles; when drilled, the hole sizes often tend to be either too large or too small, in which case the branch end cannot be easily inserted into the hole, or the branch will tend to rotate or to sway in the hole, respectively.
The sizes and uniformity of the drilled holes themselves are subject to variation. The wood may swell, reducing the size of the drilled hole; the insertion and rotation of a branch or the repeated insertion and removal of a branch will tend to enlarge the hole. Thus, there are substantial problems associated with "stick-in" trees in which holes are drilled into wooden poles.
The present invention eliminates those problems of "stick-in" trees by the substitution of unitary molded plastic branch holder sleeves having vertical holes and related cantilevered U-shaped channels associated therewith in lieu of each of the angled holes presently employed by stick-in poles. The use of a vertical hole, which may be slightly "sloppy" or "over-sized", in association with an open channel, allows quick and easy insertion of pre-formed bent branch ends into the hole, yet prohibits rotation or wobble, as well as accomodating variations in wire sizes and twisted wire variation. This is accomplished by the formation of the female or receiving member along two intersecting axes, rather than along the single axis provided by the drilled hole in the state of the art "stick-in" tree.
The new branch holder, which also is an improvement over earlier, known branch holders, may be fastened or otherwise attached to a trunk pole (of wood, plastic, or metal) at predetermined levels by a connector means such as notches or resilient split-ring formed integrally therewith and adapted to cooperate with lock means such as a pin, a ring, or a circumscribed groove on the pole. This arrangement allows the entire sleeve to be selectively rotated on the pole itself to aid in the shaping and aesthetic balancing of the tree; and if a simple friction-type of clamping is used to secure the branch holder to the tree, the sleeve may be selectively, vertically displaced along the pole in addition to being rotated. Thus, the branch receiving elements of the new tree assembly may, to a limited degree, be located, as desired, to enhance shaping, as contrasted with the absolutely fixed location of the drilled holes in a "stick-in" pole.
In alternative embodiments of the new tree assembly, the sleeve holder itself may be formed integrally with a plastic trunk pole or trunk pole segment or it may be permanently fastened to or otherwise assembled with a pole by conventional mechanical fastening means, adhesives, or the like.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention and a better appreciation of the attendant advantages to be derived from its practice, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.